Preparing I-864 Affidavit of Support Forms

If you are a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident and are sponsoring a family member to immigrate to the United States,
you will likely need to file one or more of the I-864 Affidavit of Supportforms with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The purpose is to show that your immigrating relative will not become a public charge, because you will either support him or her, or reimburse any government agency from which your relative claims need-based assistance.

There are four forms associated with the process, of which you’ll have to fill out at least one:

Form I-864: Affidavit of Support

Form I-864EZ: Affidavit of Support

Form I-864A: Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member

Form I-864W: Intending Immigrant’s Affidavit of Support Exemption

Who Should Use Form I-864?

You will likely need to file an I-864 if you have filed (or intend to file) any of the following petitions to sponsor an immigrant for U.S. residence:

Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative; perhaps for a spouse, child, sibling, or parent, or

Form I-140, if you have a 5% or more interest in a business that filed an employment-based immigrant visa petition for your spouse, parent, son, daughter, or sibling to immigrate and work for that business.

Unless you qualify for one of the exemptions described under the discussion of Form I-864W below, you must submit Form I-864 even if your income is NOT sufficient to sponsor the immigrant. In that situation, however, one of your options to make sure the immigrant’s green card application is successful is to look for a joint sponsor, living in the U.S., whose income and/or assets equal at least 125% of the Poverty Guidelines, taking into account both the number of people in the joint sponsor’s household and the number of incoming immigrants. The joint sponsor would also sign a Form I-864, thereby promising to provide any and all financial support necessary to assist you in supporting the immigrant(s).

Who Should Use Form I-864EZ

A few petitioners can use an easier form of the I-864 Affidavit of Support, called the I-864EZ. To be eligible,
you must:

be the person who filed the original Form I-130 on behalf of the immigrant

have listed only one immigrant on Form I-130 (without any derivative spouses or children)

be able to show sufficient income to support the immigrant based solely on your salary and pension, which amount is shown on the W-2 Form(s) provided by your employer or former employer.

Note that this means that joint sponsors cannot use the EZ form. Nor can petitioners who filed Form I-140; “substitute sponsors” filing on behalf of a deceased petitioner; or petitioners sponsoring more than one immigrant on the same I-130.

Who Should Use Form I-864A

If your income is not at least 125% of the Poverty Guidelines for your family size, you will not be able to sponsor an immigrant unless you can meet the income requirement in some other way. This might include income from relatives or dependents living in your household or listed on your most recent federal tax return.

If these people in your household are willing to help sponsor the immigrant, they must sign Form I-864A: Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member. In doing so, they promise to provide any and all financial support necessary to assist you in supporting the immigrant.

Who Should Use Form I-864W

The following people do not need to file a Form I-864 when they petition for an immigrant or in connection with their own application for U.S. permanent residence; but must instead file Form I-864W, showing their exemption from the I-864 requirement:

Anyone petitioning an immigrant who can him- or herself be credited with 40 qualifying quarters (credits) of work (about ten years) in the United States. In some cases, in addition to their own work, intending immigrants may get credit for hours of work performed by a spouse or by a parent (for immigrants under 18). The Social Security Administration (SSA) can assist you in counting quarters of work and in providing that evidence of the work.

Anyone petitioning an immigrant who, upon admission into the U.S., will acquire U.S. citizenship under Section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.), as amended by the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA).

Self-petitioning widow/ers and self-petitioning battered spouses and children who have received approval from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of a Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant.

When To Get Help

Many people who lack experience dealing with USCIS encounter serious pitfalls along the way. The laws are complex, andproving financial capacity is a common difficulty for new immigrants and their families. If you intend to take on the task, we recommend that you do not rely upon information solicited directly from a USCIS office. You are not likely to be given all of the details you might need and you could actually receive incorrect information, for which the USCIS will not take responsibility. If you would like assistance, find a local immigration attorney.